The Neighbourhood Mixtape: Meet Me in the Middle

The Neighbourhood Mixtape is a collection of newly-released songs by Toronto musicians. The mixtape is meant to celebrate Toronto's music culture and provide a forum to listen to and discover new local music.

Every Sunday, I post a five-track mixtape that you can download or stream as a soundtrack for the week. The theme for our fifth installment, inspired by this weekend's celebrations, is parades.

Track #1: Wildlife, "Stand in the Water"

"We're all going somewhere!" is the rallying call of Wildlife's "Stand in the Water". The four-minute anthem parades like an army with loud marching band bass drums, guitar splashes and chant-a-long lyrics that lead us toward that "somewhere".

Track #2: Ruby Coast, "Whatever This Is"

Ruby Coast's "Whatever This Is" is like candy tossed in parades. The sweet track unwraps, revealing whimsical dialogue-lyrics, sugar-coated in light synthesizers.

Track #3: Small Sins feat. K-OS, "Déjà Vu"

The swagger of Small Sins' "Déjà Vu" makes you want to parade yourself. The digital disco track contains synth screeches and arcade-like guitar picks. The curtain-raiser comes halfway into the song when percussions explode and K-OS emerges with a cameo.

Track #4: Modern Superstitions, "Visions of You"

Modern Superstitions' "Visions of You" blends modern pop and 80's rock style, complete with a nod to Dexy's Midnight Runners. Riding on big bass and shuffled garage guitar riffs, Nyssa Rosaleen's showy vocals glitter and flare like punches of coloured confetti.

Track #5: The Russian Futurists, "Hoeing Weeds Sowing Seeds"

Fresh off their fourth album The Weight's on the Wheels, The Russian Futurists' "Hoeing Weeds Sowing Seeds" is a head-in-the-clouds track that passes like a cavalcade of floats.